Hi I’m Sanny. I’m a rock’n’roll musician from Melbourne, Australia. I play in a band called EMPRA. It’s in-your-face, high-energy rock. Its got balls and its pretty catchy too. It combines the explosive energy of Foo Fighters with the kick-arse-ness of Green Day and the boisterous fun of Weezer. We all drive white station wagons and the other guys in the band are all named Matt. We’ve just released a self-titled debut album and we’re going on tour across the country for the next three months spanning 23 dates!
What’s your earliest memory of performing and who inspired you to start?
My brother made me sing ‘Night Fever’ by the Bee Gees at my birthday party when I was a kid and even wanted me to do the John Travolta moves. It’s an embarrassing memory. Otherise – growing up as a kid, I was very inspired by watching Freddie Mercury during Queen’s Live Aid performance.
You must answer this question honestly or we steal your rider. What and where was the first gig you went to?
It was Metallica during the Black Album tour at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. I had severe whiplash and my ears were ringing for weeks after; but Kirk Hammet looked me straight in the eyes during the guitar solo of ‘One’. It sent shivers down my spine!
‘Fess up. What records have you stolen from your parent’s record collection and why?
The only CD my Dad had that was worth stealing was Nat King Cole’s Greatest Hits, the rest of his collection consisted of mostly stuff from Englebert Humperdink, which I wasn’t really feeling at the time.
What’s on heavy rotation on your iPod right now?
Refused – The Shape of Punk to Come
How do you find new music?
Mostly from online magazines, music blogs and digital radio stations. I also listen to Radar Music and Triple J Unearthed a fair bit when I’m at work.
Do you have any particular ritual before you go on stage, or even a lucky charm you take with you?
I do some stretches and vocal warm ups in the toilet to get the blood flow happening. I must always have a photograph of my grandfather either in my shirt pocket or in my wallet at every show. Unfortunately he got soaked in sweat at the last gig so I think I’ve got to get him laminated. He’s the best lucky charm ever.
If you could curate your own festival, where would it be, who would be on the bill, how many people would you let in and what features would it have (attractions/food/bars etc)?
I would like to curate a festival called ‘Rock For Good’ and hold it at the Corner Hotel, have all the most exciting independent rock bands over one day, across two stages. The festival would be supporting a charity that helps teenagers at risk by introducing rock’n’roll into their lives!
I’d have Electric Mary and Closure in Moscow co-headline with King of the North, EMPRA, Dead City Ruins, The Deep End, Massive, Bellusira, Pistenbroke, Dividers, Sunset Riot, Dead Star Renegade… I’ll also invite a whole bunch of my mates in rock bands to play as well. It might end up with too many bands!
There’s this Indian restaurant called “Did You Eat?” in Richmond which is always full of taxi drivers… I’d get them to cater food and this Lebanese bakery in Richmond called A1 will also have a stall… I’d have like neck massage stalls on the side to cater for sore head bangers. The bar staff at Corner are professional and good looking enough already, so I’d let them take care of it. It would be cool. You wait and see. It’ll happen someday!
When you’re Rolling Stones Big, what are you going to request on your rider: don’t be shy. We want specifics!
It might sound boring, but you wouldn’t know how hard it actually is to get a drink of warm water, freshly cooked food and one of those rejuvenating tantric massages in a quiet room that smells nice in an Australian venue these days!
Because it’s more fun to do things together, which living Australian artist would you most like to collaborate with? Tell us why?
It would definitely be Rusty from Electric Mary. He’s such an inspiration and he’s got the ultimate rock’n’roll voice. I would love to write some songs for him to sing!
What is your band’s music the best soundtrack for?
We’ve been told that we can lift your spirits after a shitty day at work or if your footy team loses.
Where we can see you play next, what releases do you have available and where can we get them?
Our next show is at Revolver Bandroom in Melbourne on Sat 26 May. It sold out last week!
We then go on tour across the country and there are 23 dates spanning capital cities and regional towns and it might be too many to list here.
You can read all the info at our website and we also have a very active social media presence. Be sure to check out our Facebook,
Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Tour Diary and Soundcloud.
